-You are the motivational cheerleaders! General words of encouragement are important for the players to hear at the appropriate times throughout the games:

-Good Effort! -Stay Focused! -Energy! -Shake it off!

- It’s really important to have a supportive, positive environment no matter what the score is. It can be frustrating when we aren’t playing as well as we can, but we need to control that and channel it into encouragement

-Make sure to cheer for the WHOLE team, not just the individual who put it in the net- it takes the entire team to score

-Applaud when a player from either team is able to stand up after an injury

-Extra encouragement after we are scored on gives them a boost since energy and attitude levels often drop at this point.

-Focus on encouraging Controllable Conditions- these are the aspects of the game that the players can control: the energy level, the attitude, using proper techniques, and demonstrating an understanding of the tactics. In other words, the way in which the players play the game of soccer.

Things NOT to do:

- Do not give instructions- that is what the coaches do at practice; the game is for the players to put to use what they have learned and to make decisions for themselves

-Do not cheer for bad techniques/ tactical decisions

-Do not panic when your child gets hurt- it is a contact sport and is inevitable. We are trying to teach the players how to calmly discuss an injury and how to recover from one.

-Do not discuss Uncontrollable Conditions- these are simply part of the game and are out of the power of the players; therefore they should not be using them as excuses and should not be focused on them.

These include: the field, the weather, the referee, and the other team

-Don’t talk to the referee, make comments about the calls, or discuss their abilities: this is extremely important, even after leaving the field- if your child hears you say ‘that ref was biased, he was terrible’ it allows the players to think the same thing and place the responsibility for the result of the game on the ref and not think about how they can improve their own performance.

-Don’t make negative comments about the other team- even if you feel an opponent is ‘cheating’ or ‘playing dirty’ (which may very well be true), what good does that do to express that? Instead we should focus on what our players can do to overcome this challenge- stay focused, improve passing, stay strong, etc.

-Do not make negative comments about players on our team or our opponents.

-Do not approach your child's coach about concerns you have about the game right after it is over. Allow for some time for each of you to calm down after all of the excitement. Coaches want to hear from parents with questions and concerns, but often they too are emotional after a game whether it was a great or tough one!

Fundamentals to keep in mind at Games and at Home:

-Acknowledge Mistakes- they are part of the learning experience- don’t ignore them. By accepting the fact that mistakes occur, the players will learn to take responsibility for it and learn from it. Instead of being paralyzed by the fear of making mistakes, we want the players to accept that they happen, learn from them, and make the effort to not have it occur again.

This encourages the players to seek new challenges and to develop a resilient mindset.

-Competitive Spirit vs Win at all Costs- How you play, with the right attitude and effort, is more important than just the outcome; a victory without these 2 components is not worthy. Similarly, a loss can be considered a worthy defeat if a hard effort and positive attitude were demonstrated.

-Have Fun- this should be a fun experience, not only for the players but for the PARENTS as well! Show the boys/girls that you are enjoying watching them play and learn.